Tokyo Scraps 'Plagiarised' 2020 Olympics Logo

The logo for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo has been scrapped, amid claims its designer engaged in plagiarism.

Organisers were under pressure to take action after Olivier Debie, a Belgian artist, alleged the emblem bore striking similarities to a logo he had created for a theatre.

Kenjiro Sano, the Olympic logo's designer, has denied copying Mr Debie's work, but offered to withdraw his work earlier on Tuesday.

The director-general of Tokyo's organising committee, Toshio Muto, said: "At this point, we have decided the logo cannot gain public support."

An open competition will now be held to devise a new emblem for the event.

Mr Debie, who is pursuing legal action over the alleged plagiarism, told Sky News he is "surprised and happy" over the move – but warned his lawsuit will continue.

"They spoke about parallel things that do not directly concern the problem of similarity between the two logos – and they didn't admit the plagiarism," he said.

"The complaint will continue until the committee admits plagiarism."

Mr Sano had enjoyed support from organisers as late as Friday even though fresh accusations of plagiarism in his other projects have been brewing for weeks.

Two of his projects, one for a zoo and another for a public museum in Japan, also appear to have a close resemblance to the work of other designers.

"I have to protect my family and staff from persistent attacks and bashing over the ruckus. I feel the situation has become unbearable as a human being," he explained.

The logo controversy is being perceived as embarrassing for Japan, which has already had to abandon the provisional design for its flagship Olympic stadium over taxpayers' concerns that the cost was skyrocketing.

This means organisers will struggle to have the building ready for the January 2020 deadline set by the International Olympic Committee.